Polygon Joins NAM
The broach manufacturer joins the nation’s largest industrial trade association.
Posted: January 15, 2015
Polygon Solutions, Inc. (Fort Myers, FL) has announced it is joining the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM; Washington, DC). The innovative Florida company manufactures rotary broaching tools used in CNC machine tools to make bone screws and extremely accurate aerospace fasteners. The partnership joins the active small business to the largest voice in the national conversation about the value of manufacturing.
U.S. manufacturers are responsible for the majority of research and development in the nation and drive more innovation than any other sector. Polygon is only four years old but has won the nationally recognized ML100 award for Innovative Enterprise and regional awards for Market Problem Solving and Technology Transformation. The company also continues to release new rotary broaching products every year as it increases in size and employees.
In fact, the need for skilled workers is what brought these two entities together. Despite the fact that manufacturers in the United States are some of the most productive in the world, with greater worker productivity than any other major manufacturing economy, sobering statistics about the need for skilled workers are beginning to impact small businesses like Polygon. Three years ago the company decided to join Manufacturing Day, the grassroots effort designed to attract new workers to the industry.
The National Association of Manufacturers is a co-producer of the Manufacturing Day event. NAM represents 11,000 companies and is the nation’s largest industrial trade association, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Manufacturing Day is designed to open the doors of manufacturing facilities to students and the public and help them to see the opportunity they have to join a more modern manufacturing experience than in years past.
Polygon has participated in Manufacturing Day every year since it began. It has partnered with a local Lee County High School in Southwest Florida to bring students into their facility for a manufacturing presentation and tour. Attendance for the event has nearly doubled every year.
The joint effort is helping other businesses too. Neighboring company Paver Motorcycles decided to join Polygon’s tour this year. After learning about innovative rotary broach tools, students were directed next door to learn how custom motorcycles are made. Most students admitted afterwards that although they hadn’t considered a career in manufacturing, they were more likely to after the tour.
Polygon credits much of its success to the relationships they’ve developed with various manufacturing associations. Other affiliations include the Precision Machined Products Association (PMPA), the Southwest Regional Manufacturer’s Association (SRMA) and the National Tooling and Machining Association (NTMA). The broach manufacturer is now expecting to make further gains in exporting, tax issues and workforce development with the help of NAM.
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